Montejo v. Louisiana

129 S.Ct. 2079 (2009)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Police sought to question D for the robbery and murder of Ferrari. D waived his rights under Miranda and was interrogated through the late afternoon and evening and the early morning of the next day. D repeatedly changed his account of the crime, at first claiming that he had only driven Moore to the victim’s home, and ultimately admitting that he had shot and killed Ferrari in the course of a botched burglary. These interrogations were videotaped. Three days later, D was brought before a judge for a “72-hour hearing”-a preliminary hearing required under state law. D was charged with First Degree Murder, the Court ordered No Bond set and that the Office of Indigent Defender be appointed to represent D. Later that same day, two detectives visited D and requested that he accompany them on an excursion to locate the murder weapon (which D had earlier indicated he had thrown into a lake). D was again read his Miranda rights and agreed to go along. During the excursion, he wrote an inculpatory letter of apology to the victim’s widow. Upon their return, D finally meet his court-appointed attorney, who was quite upset that the detectives had interrogated D in his absence. D was convicted of first-degree murder, and sentenced to death. The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed and reasoned that the prophylactic protection of Jackson is not triggered unless and until the defendant has actually requested a lawyer or has otherwise asserted his Sixth Amendment right to counsel. D simply stood mute at his 72-hour hearing while the judge ordered the appointment of counsel, he had made no such request or assertion. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.